Lavinia Kumar is originally from Ireland, her husband from India. He was her TA in Chemistry lab at Boston University, but they dated later. They have four offspring, and, so far, five grandchildren, and live in New Jersey. She has a BA in Chemistry, MA in Biology, and EdD in Science Education. During her career she taught in colleges, high school, medical school; and she trained teachers and administrators from elementary through medical and dental school to the state level. She taught content (mostly Biology), instruction, standards, assessment, and how to use educational technologies in these areas.

She’d always written in her spare time, such as during a daughter’s gymnastics practice – sometimes children’s stories, sometimes poetry. Not much was good, not much was finished. Then retirement brought time to workshop, revise, and edit, as well as, most importantly, to attend classes and seminars to learn something of the art and craft of poetry. She likes the short form that poetry provides, and hers centers, of course, on areas in which she has experience or interest. Often, she makes a special effort to be inclusive as well as, at times, to educate. Spare time has also enabled her to return to painting. She primarily use acrylics – her paintings usually a sort of primitive surrealism.

From the author:

I like the way poetry enables the capture of life nuggets, can lead to the surreal, and paint a picture that may change some of its meaning when explored.